Japanese Mom and Daughter Make History; Enroll at Japan Police Academy at the Same Time

Miyagi prefectural police academy Japan Police Japanese Mom and Daughter

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald May 10, 12:26 pm

Photo: (Photo : KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

A mother and daughter from the city of Sendai have made policing history in Japan by becoming the first parent and child to join at the same time a prefectural police force. Kana Ashino, 43, and her daughter Karin, 18, accomplished the feat by both enrolling at the Miyagi prefectural police academy.

Mom Kana has already finished her shorter training and currently works at a police station in an administrative post. On the other hand, daughter Karin has recently completed her high school studies and will soon undergo further training to become a police officer.

Kana said that they both want to quickly become full-fledged police personnel and do their best for the citizens, a view that her daughter also shares. According to the prefectural police, the Ashinos are the first parent and child recruited at the same time by any police force in Japan.

Kana Ashino gave up police dream during the employment ice age

Kana had admired the police officers stationed at koban police boxes, who kept their local area safe ever since she was a high school student. She considered taking the police recruitment test when she graduated from university, but government careers suddenly surged in popularity during the "employment ice age" after the bubble economy burst in Japan.

According to the Inquirer, Kana gave up chasing that dream of becoming an officer as there were far more applicants than positions available for police jobs at that time. She instead became a medical office worker at a Sendai hospital, got married, and eventually became a mother to a son and a daughter.

Kana got a second chance about two years ago when the prefectural police started recruiting administrative workers from among the generation who struggled to get a foot on the career ladder after graduating during Japan's employment ice age.

Feeling that this might be fate, Kana decided to take the recruitment test with both her children nearing adulthood. Kana failed the fiscal exam in 2020, but she remained undeterred and started preparing to take the exam for the following year.

Karin helped her mother with the exam

Karin, who was in her final year at high school then, was impressed by her mother's determination. Karin offered to study together with her mother. When she was a young child, Karin had played with toy police cars and had heard her mother speaking of her dream of becoming a police officer.

Karin also had ambitions of being a cop, so she studied hard alongside her mother. Karin completed the first-stage examination in September 2021. She gave her mother Kana her study-aid materials, which highlighted important parts and filled with notes. Karin taught her mother diligently as much as she could, even helping Kana practice doing interviews.

In April, Kana and Karin passed their exams and enrolled at the police academy in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture. According to VisitMiyagi.com, Miyagi Prefecture is located 90 minutes away from the Japanese capital city of Tokyo.